Legacy Reports
AFRL Computer Guides NASA Rovers to Mars
Radiation-resistant computers developed here by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) helped not only steer one of NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers to…
Legacy Reports
Spirit’s Surroundings Beckon In Color Panorama
Pasadena - Jan 12, 2004 - The first 360-degree color view from NASA's Spirit Mars Exploration Rover presents a range of tempting targets from nearby rocks to hills on the horizon.
Legacy Reports
Spirit Rover Nearly Ready to Roll
Pasadena - Jan 12, 2004 - NASA's Spirit rover now has its arm and all six of its wheels free, and only a single cable must be cut before it can turn and roll off its lander onto the soil of Mars. As that milestone is completed, scientists are taking opportunities to take extra pictures and other data.
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Watchmaker With Time To Lose
Pasadena (JPL) Jan 12, 2004 - They said it couldn't be done. But in the sleepy little town of Montrose, California, nestled in the hills surrounding JPL, master watchmaker Garo Anserlian of Executive Jewelers is perfecting a timepiece for hundreds of Earthlings bound to Mars' irregular day. Past the glass cases of what looks like an ordinary jewelry store is a workshop where watches are losing 39 minutes a day.
Legacy Reports
NASA Research Enhances Benefits Of Plant Experiments
Washington - Jan 12, 2004 - NASA-funded scientists are researching methods to address current issues and future needs for efficiently growing plants on Mars.
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APS X-rays Reveal Secrets Of The Martian Core
Argonne - Jan 12, 2004 - While astronomers peer at the surface of Mars, now making its closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years, scientists are learning the secrets of its deep interior using the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne.
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Is Gusev Crater the site of an ancient Martian lake?.
Pasadena - Jan 09, 2004 - Scientists analyzing data from NASA's Spirit rover to determine water levels at the landing site may not have a final answer for several more weeks, but today they announced that they had uncovered one tantalizing clue.
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Earth, Wind and Fire: What’s Missing?
Moffett Field - Jan 09, 2004 - There is one question that the Spirit rover's mission will try to answer. Which primordial elements dominated the crater formation at Gusev? Among the choices are fire (volcanism), water (ponding or glacial), impacts (dust) or wind? Mars seems to offer three elements in abundance: earth, wind and at least ancient fire. [Mars is home to the largest volcano in the solar system, appropriately named Mount Olympus].
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NASA Brings Mars Online As 1300 Servers Share The Load
Pasadena - Jan 07, 2004 - As the spacecraft flies, Mars is millions of miles away. Thanks to the Internet, NASA can bring it into your living room, to a local Internet cafe, or anywhere else with access to the World Wide Web.
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ILC Dover Airbags Cushion MER Spirit Landing on Mars
Frederica - Jan 07, 2004 - On January 4, 2004, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) named Spirit, ended its 300-million-mile journey from Earth with a successful landing on the surface of Mars. ILC Dover, Inc. of Frederica, Delaware was NASA's prime contractor for the airbag subsystem that helped make the landing a success. The concept of a cushioned landing on Mars using ILC airbags was first successfully demonstrated on the NASA Pathfinder mission in 1997.
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The Bright Side of Beagle
Sydney - Jan 06, 2004 - The Monty Python song always look on the bright side of life comes to mind as we contemplate the apparent loss of the Beagle 2 Mars lander. By now, repeated attempts to contact the spacecraft have failed, and it seems reasonable to conclude that we will never hear from it.
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Space Shuttle Columbia Crew Memorialized On Mars
Washington - Jan 06, 2004 - NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe today announced plans to name the landing site of the Mars Spirit rover in honor of the astronauts who died in the tragic accident of the Space Shuttle Columbia in February. The area in the vast flatland of the Gusev Crater where Spirit landed this weekend will be called the Columbia Memorial Station.
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Rover Adds Color To Mars View: Full Panorama By Next Week
Pasadena (JPL) Jan 06, 2004 - The first full-color snapshots of Mars have surpassed all expectations and shown the so-called the red planet actually boasts subtle shades of blue and ochre, NASA scientists said Tuesday.
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Endurance Of Plants Under Quartz Rocks Possible Model For Life On Early Earth
Durham - Jan 06, 2004 - Microscopic Mojave Desert plants growing on the underside of translucent quartz pebbles can endure both chilly and near-boiling temperatures, scavenge nitrogen from the air, and utilize the equivalent of nighttime moonlight levels for photosynthesis, a new study reports. The plants, which receive enough light through the pebbles to support photosynthesis, could offer a model for how plants first colonized land, as well as how they might have evolved on Mars, said the scientists who performed the study.
Legacy Reports
Spirit Now Sending Color Postcards From Mars
Pasadena (JPL) Jan 05, 2004 - NASA has begun receiving high resolution color photographs of Mars from the Spirit rover and is processing them for release sometime later Monday, officials here said.
Legacy Reports
HiRes Color Poster Tuesday: Full Panorama By Next Week
Pasadena (JPL) Jan 05, 2004 - The US robot probe Spirit on Monday snapped the first full-color images of its surroundings on Mars, pieced together by NASA to form a panoramic view and stunning first postcard from the red planet.